Large car assemblers in Vietnam have had overdue taxes on import accessories waived by the Ministry of Finance.

The waiver was contained in the latest dispatch sent to local customs departments Tuesday, the VnExpress reported.

According to the newswire, among the five companies that would enjoy the relief are Toyota Vietnam, which was facing claims of over VND3.3 trillion (US$158.4 million) in overdue taxes made by Hanoi customs agencies; and Ford Vietnam with claims of over VND32.5 billion ($1.5 million).

Under the ministry's dispatch instructing customs agencies in localities to handle cases of "back taxes" related to import car parts, accessories that aren't imported separately as regulated by local regulations, and whose total value is more than 10 percent of the total value of all parts used to assemble a car will be taxed between 72 and 83 percent.

In a previous letter, the ministry had said that while the carmakers were found not importing accessories as separately as regulated, the parts' value was less than 10 percent of the total value, VnExpress reported.